


It's All For Her

by AussieTransfan2015, TheBigLoserQueen



Series: Monster AU [13]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Human, Background Het, Blood, Blood and Gore, Death, Gen, Gore, Human, Interspecies Relationship(s), Monsters, Size Difference, Tension, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 15:38:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10282301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AussieTransfan2015/pseuds/AussieTransfan2015, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBigLoserQueen/pseuds/TheBigLoserQueen
Summary: Solstice witnesses Bloodshed in his monster form.





	

"I hope you don't mind sharing the bed with me," Thornstriker said as she tidied up the room. "It's pretty big, so I figured it would be all right... If not, maybe I can set up a make-shift bed and-!" 

Solstice was already shaking her head, giving a soft chuckle to Thornstriker's rambling. "It's fine, Thornstriker. It'll be like when we were kids!"

"Yes," Thornstriker giggled, putting away her books back onto the shelf. "I suppose it would be..."

Solstice had come by to see her again earlier today. She was in between deliveries at the moment, so the younger woman had plenty of time to chat. Thornstriker had been more than happy to spend time with her, especially since Bloodshed had been out hunting for most of the day. But when he did return to see her friend had come over, he had only greeted her before heading into the kitchen area while the two of them relaxed in her room and spent time catching up.

Solstice was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Thornstriker had willing given herself to Bloodshed two years ago. She had never seen Bloodshed's normal, monster form before. Every time she came by, he was always in his human facade. Today was no different. But she was kind of glad since she was a little intimidated by what he might look like. She knew he was a demon, but that didn't mean anything considering how many different variants of demons there were. But Thornstriker insisted he was like "a giant dog" when in that form during the full moon period, so she figured maybe he didn't look all that bad.

Besides, Bloodshed himself seemed like a good guy. Thornstriker enjoyed being with him and she could see he took great care of her friend. Her room was small, but so was the rest of this cave carved into the side of the mountain. But it was filled with a large soft bed, a hand-carved dresser, and shelves covering all the walls with plenty of books on each of them. Not to mention it was his idea to let her stay the night since he mentioned when he had been out, it looked like rain.

So there she was, getting ready for bed as Thornstriker put away her books and moved a few pillows from the sides to where Solstice would be sleeping. She had to wonder why Thornstriker had so many... And they were all really nice quality too. Soft and fluffy and incredibly comfortable.

"Where did he get these?"

Thornstriker paused. "Hmmm?"

Solstice pointed to the pillows.

"Oh! I... I'm not sure." Thornstriker moved to fix up the blankets while Solstice stood out of the way, letting down her hair. "Bloodshed often goes into the city up North to sell furs and such... Probably somewhere there."

"I thought they looked familiar," recalling the last time she had treked to the Northern kingdom, there was a merchant there who sold all kinds of pillows. Feathered, cotton, all varieties.

"Have you been to the North?" Thornstriker asked, moving the last of her books, arranging the pillows.

"Not recently, but I have seen merchants that way selling these. They love their frivolities." She gave a small smile before coming to sit on the bed. She almost fell off from how soft it was. It was softer than her bed back home. Though, she prefered slightly firmer beds.

"Would you like something to sleep in?" Thornstriker offered. "I might have something..."

"Nah, it's okay. I don't really like wearing long nightgowns when I sleep."

Thornstriker nodded, but she ended up blushing when Solstice simply removed her jacket and shirt. Under her pants were a simple pair of shorts while her chest was covered by a tight binding, woven to look like a halter top. She smiled, but quickly changed the subject. "It's actually why I could never sleep growing up."

"Really?"

"Yeah, one time Speedzone and Turbocharge stayed with me, she pulled me out of my sleep shirt while I was tossing and turning. Best sleep of my life."

Thornstriker giggled as she climbed into bed, Solstice soon following. She did recall all the times she had found Solstice struggling to get comfortable or even to fall asleep without aid when they were kids. Reminicing pulled her thoughts to how much things had changed. Solstice was now a Royal Courier; it was a dream for her and she reveled in her new adventures. They had spent a good part of their day talking about nothing but her previous runs. Spanning from funny tales to pounding drama as she talked about running between the Kingdoms. Still, she worried when Solstice talked about her runs to the West; King Nemesis was a terror in tales as he was in person.

Hearing about the council building being the target of a assassination plot and how she had run inside of the burning building, she couldn't help but chide her just as she had when they were younger.

"Thanks, Thornstriker."

Pulled from her memories, Thornstriker turned to a smiling Solstice.

"For what?"

"For letting me come over."

She smiled. "Of course, Solstice. It's nothing."

"No. Really," Solstice slid onto her back, proping her head up on her elbow. "I...I've missed you. Hearing what had happened... I'll admit I was scared. But being here, spending time, it's been like old times."

Thornstriker gave her a soft look. Yes... Everyone thought her dead when she took Wheeljack's place as the sacrifice. And while she liked being with Bloodshed, she did miss home. She missed her friends, her family - yes, she still wrote them, thanks to Solstice, but still. It wasn't the same as actually being with them or living in the village with everyone.

But she didn't want to leave Bloodshed either. He had done nothing but love and cherish her the entire time she lived with him. Even though he told her she could leave whenever she wanted to, she chose to stay. Besides, if she went back, the village elders would never believe her about demons and how humans were the ones that came up with the concept of sacrifice a virgin when a demon was spotted. Virgins didn't pacify demons; it only frustrated them since they weren't beasts.

She stretched up a hand to touch Solstice's cheek. "I missed you too."

"You think... Maybe you could come back home to visit?" she asked, not wanting to get her hopes up but still wanting to believe it might have been possible. "Everyone would love to see you."

Thornstriker thought about it for a few moments. She had wanted to go down and see them... But again, she didn't want to run into the elders. She worried how they would react seeing "a dead woman" walking through their village. She certainly couldn't bring Bloodshed with her, human or monster form. Her brother would never allow him to set a foot inside the house. Maybe if she warned Airstream ahead of time? Still, it seemed like a long shot...

But she did want to see everyone as well. She missed them too.

"I'll talk to Bloodshed about it," she said softly.

Well, it wasn't a no, so Solstice smiled and moved to lie down on the bed. Just as the two of them started getting comfortable, the door opened. Both women turned to see Bloodshed standing in the doorway, his red eyes falling to Thornstriker.

"Bloodshed?"

"Just... Wanted to see if you needed anything."

While she was fine, Thornstriker still turned to Solstice and said, "Do you need anything?"

"Nah, I'm good thanks," she smiled, offering another to Bloodshed. She wasn't expecting him to acknowledge it or return it, but she was beginning to catch on to his tells.

He simply nodded, not returning the smile and blew out the remaining candle before he left the girls to sleep.

"Not trying to be offensive here, Thornstriker, but does Bloodshed smile? Or is it just because I'm here?"

Thornstriker seemed surprised by the question, turning to her with wide eyes. Solstice couldn't see her all too well, but she knew. Primus, sometimes she cursed her curiousity, but more often than not her mouth ran faster than her brain. She hoped Thornstriker wouldn't be offended either. She could tell she cared for Bloodshed; hell, she probably loved him. The last thing she wanted to do was offend either of them because of a silly question.

She wasn't sure how to answer that though. Bloodshed wasn't very sociable, even within his small circle of friends. But he was kind and very considerate around her, often returning small smiles as she offered hers. Nebula once joked that Bloodshed was a misanthrope. While it certainly wasn't true, Bloodshed was rather standoffish to everyone but her. He mentioned once how it was hard for him to get comfortable around others. Many, including other monsters, avoided him when he was younger because, unfortunately, he was a rather frightening looking demon. So he just learned to keep to himself and didn't really know how to interact with people most of the time. Not to mention he liked being alone for the most part.

Still, he didn't hate Solstice. Thornstriker knew that much. If he did, he would have been much ruder to her friend and he probably would have told her that he didn't want Solstice in his den. But he never did. Because he knew how much Solstice meant to her.

"He's just awkward," Thornstriker finally said. "It's not you... He just has trouble expressing himself. His friends tell me I'm the only one he's really open with. He's relaxed with them, but... With me, he can be... softer, is how they put it."

"And who wouldn't?" Solstice smiled, lying back with her arms behind her head. "You're the nicest person I know."

Thornstriker blushed at the compliment.

"Still, sometimes I feel like he doesn't really like me." She felt Thornstriker shift around. It was too dark to see if she was facing her or not, but Solstice could feel eyes on her. "Is he bothered I'm here?"

"Like I said, he's awkward." Thornstriker shifted closer, her eyes adjusting to the dark to see Solstice looking up at the roof of the room. "If he didn't like you, he would be acting differently."

"So long as I'm not stepping on any toes."

"Come on, if we don't sleep now, it will be dawn before we know it."

Both giggled, recalling times their chats and talks lasted long into the night, sleeping most of the next day away because of it. Moving a little closer, Thornstriker could feel Solstice roll beside her, sleeping only a centimeter away. Like they were kids again, they didn't divide the bed. Sharing warmth and pillows, both girls finally allowed sleep to roll in.

"Goodnight, Thornstriker."

"Goodnight, Solstice." 

* * *

It must have been around midnight when Solstice woke up.

Moonlight peeked from under the door to bring a slight light into the room. Groaning and feeling her throat crack, she cursed the thirst clawing her throat. Looking down, she was happy to find Thornstriker had shifted a little away from her, allowing her to slip out of the bed without disturbing her.

Using her feet to feel out anything in front of her, Solstice slipped out of the room and edged out of the cave. She soon found herself near the entrance where a pool of water laid. Using her hands as a cup, she took slips of the clear water. It drenched her throat and drove away the nasty bile. Refreshed, she took a moment to stare up at the stars. Sleeping in a cave was better than she had thought; warm in the day, cool in the night. But nothing could top staring up at the starry sky on a clear night.

It was beautiful out tonight. It was a new moon, so the stars were incredibly bright out tonight. She could even make out more constellations than usual... It was so peaceful too. She could hear a waterfall rumbling in the distance and crickets chirping. It was a peaceful night and she would have been content to just lay out here for a little bit if there wasn't wind blowing.

But just as she stood up, she heard a heavy groan, followed by a snarl. Her eyes widened, turning to the sound. She thought it was just her imagination when she suddenly heard the sound of something snapping.

On her feet in a flash, Solstice tried to force her eyes to acclimate to the darkness. More faint sounds echoed around the trees, leaving her unnerved. Quickly, she ran back into the cave and grabbed her small dagger. She refused to investigate anything without some way to defend herself.

Just as she wandered closer to the noise, she when a sudden squelch and gargle caught her off. With her blade up, she edged down the water side to find the source. With Bloodshed gone out to hunt while Thornstriker slept in her bed, Solstice wasn't about to let anything hurt her friend.

Coming to a slight bend, trees blocked the way, but the sounds grew louder. Snapping and crunching, water splattering on the ground. Just what was going on? The slight light from the stars reflected off the water, giving her a slight hand in seeing just what was happening. But she wished she hadn't.

Eyes wide, arms growing slack, her hands dropped the blade at her feet from the sight before her.

A large form, something that had to be a demon, eight arms. Boney black spikes rising from its spine into a long, ridged tail. Strong haunches attacked to sturdy legs pinning a body to the ground. Squatted down, the beast turned to the sound of her blade dropping. Eyes ablaze in red, fangs and teeth filling its bloodied mouth. Intestines, guts, and blood splattered all over its face and taut chest. A man, or what used to be a man, lay in a pile of his own torn body, scattered bones and remaining organs.

From what she could see of the remains, it was a hunter or a bandit. Furs and torn leathers all that were left. But she couldn't tell, there was barely anything left of him. She had seen blood before, even broken bones sticking out of limbs- came with the job. But this gore? Her mind just shut down.

The beast eyed her, pausing all movement as he watched her closely. But her body had frozen from the shock. The only thing she could think of was 'Am I going to die?'

But the beast hadn't moved from his meal. Made no move toward her. Then something clicked, something her mind had just conjured from one of her earlier conversations with Thornstriker.

"B-Bloodshed?... What did you do?"

Whether he had an answer or not, or whether he felt inclined to say it, the beast remained silent. He appeared to acknowledge the name, though doing little more than a nod to confirm her assumption. Instead, he picked up the remains of the man; only his upper torso and severed legs. Whatever blood or leftover lumps of flesh left were dragged down stream.

"Don't tell her."

His voice, deep and dark, rolling with a deep growl and dripped with ichor, penetrating her eyes and into her mind. Solstice jumped, never thinking anything could sound like that. But he made no other move, made no other statements except stalk away with his kill. She felt weak, her legs threatening to give out.

Primus… He couldn't really be like what some of the smaller villages talked about. Passing these villages, she had heard rumors and warnings about demons in the area and how they killed people. But Thornstriker assured her Bloodshed was a good person. That he was very kind and wouldn't hurt attack anyone unprovoked. She would take Thornstriker's word over any elder or priest, but could it all just be him lying to her? Hiding this from her?

Shaking her head, sleep was already starting capitalized her shock. Best to follow what the large, ten-foot demons told her and before Thornstriker came out looking for her. Picking up her dagger, she ran back to the cave. She slipped her dagger back where her stuff was before tiptoeing into the bedroom.

"Mmm… Solstice?"

She froze, having only just slipped into the bed to see Thornstriker slowly still up. The woman was rubbing her eyes, a small wave of relief coming over her. Good. She had only just woken up.

"S-Sorry I woke you," she whispered, hoping to keep Thornstriker from fully waking up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, voice heavy with sleep as she moved to lie back down.

"I... I just needed a drink, that's all."

“Oh…”

It seemed to appease the other, who quickly fell back a sleeping. Calming herself down, Solstice slid back into the bed. She wasn't sure if she could sleep, after what she had just witnessed, but instead tried to relax and stare at the ceiling. If she slept, she slept. If not, well she would have to be really convincing in the morning, so not to worry Thornstriker. After all, she had promised Bloodshed she wouldn’t…

And she really didn’t want to get on his bad side. 

* * *

Well, it wasn't the worst night of sleep she had ever had. It could have been much worse... But still, it could have been a lot better. She had maybe got three hours of rest, all because her mind kept flashing back to what she had seen. What she wished she could forget, but would probably never be able to.

Still, she managed to hide it from Thornstriker, just as Bloodshed wanted. And when she had saw him that morning for breakfast, he was in his human form and he never said a word. For a moment, Solstice almost believed that she had just had a very vivid nightmare. But when Thornstriker asked him how many eggs he wanted for breakfast, he told her he wasn't hungry. Which in turn, only made it harder for her to finish her own breakfast remembering what she had seen.

And Bloodshed... He was acting normally. Still quiet, still keeping to himself, sitting in the same room and watching over Thornstriker. She didn't seem to think anything was wrong either, just chatting as usual after she made them breakfast. Primus, how much did she not know about this monster? Did she even realize what he was capable of?!

But she couldn't say anything. Mainly because she grew anxious at the idea of breaking her little promise with Bloodshed. The last thing she wanted was to be a target for his anger.

Solstice suddenly yawned, placing a hand over her mouth to keep it in. Primus, she was still really tired.

"Solstice?" Thornstriker said, snapping the younger woman out of her thoughts. "Did you not sleep well last night? You've been yawning all morning..."

She could feel eyes on her back now. Solstice's skin crawled from the gaze burning into her back. Any doubt she had from her so called nightmare was thrown away. She had seen Bloodshed in his monster form. She had seen him kill and devour that man. The blood, the gore and the bile flashed back through her mind. It was real, and now he was ensuring she held her tongue.

"I..." Another yawn broke through, affirming Thornstriker's concern. But at least it gave her a moment to think. "It's nothing."

"Solstice, please," Thornstriker urged, coming to sit beside her. Solstice didn't turn from her, knowing that if she caught Bloodshed's eye, it might mean the end. Instead, she took a breath and sighed.

"Your bed is too soft."

"What?"

"It was the other reason I went out to get a drink last night. I couldn't get very comfortable and thought maybe I just needed to stretch out a bit. It… didn't really help." She gave a small, weak smile, hoping her lie held true. "You were kind enough to let me stay the night. I didn't want to seem ungrateful."

"Oh..." Thornstriker frowned. Why didn't Solstice say anything? She could have easily set her up a place to sleep with one of the mattresses Bloodshed had. It wouldn't have been too much trouble. "You should have told me."

"I didn't want to-"

"We've been friends for a long time, Solstice," she said firmly. "I wouldn't have been at all bothered by your request. Now you're going to be tired all day while running back home. It's a long way from here too."

"Trust me, the King has had me done worst," she assured her, taking Thornstriker's hand to calm her down. "If it were really an issue, I would have said something. But something as minor as this, I didn't want it to be a bother."

"Oh Solstice," Thornstriker kept her firm tone. Solstice knew better than this. Now she was going to worried all day that her fatigue would lead to something worse. There were bandits and less than friendly monsters out on the roads that would capitalize on her fatigue.

"All I need is a mug of your strong tea. I've used it all the times the King ran me ragged." Solstice gripped her hand tighter, reassuring her she was fine. "Trust me, I'm fine."

Thornstriker pouted, but there wasn't much she could really do. Still, she wished Solstice would have said something. It wouldn't have been that hard to make her a bed that suited her needs... But it seemed that she would be running on tea all day. She was just glad that Solstice was in between jobs at the moment; at least she had a little more time to rest if needed.

"All right, I'll make your tea. But I need to run out the cave really quick to grab some herbs."

"Oh I'll go-"

"No, no, you wait here," she said, keeping Solstice planted in her seat while she grabbed her basket off the table. "I'll only be just outside anyway. So you stay here and rest, okay?"

Solstice didn't even have a chance to argue. Thornstriker merely smiled, signaling to Bloodshed she would be just outside. When he didn't say anything in response, she quickly exited the cave. Leaving just Solstice and Bloodshed alone in a tense silence.

Solstice could feel a chill shift. Awkward and worried being in the room, alone, with Bloodshed. She knew he wouldn't attempt to harm her, that much she knew. But the swelling thoughts she had had last night regarding the scene she found him in, the single burning question rose up again. But could she voice it? Would he answer if she asked? Now was as good a time as ever with Thornstriker out of earshot.

"You don't have to, but I gotta ask," She didn't turn to him, she just focused on speaking. "Was that man... innocent?" She didn't want to assume, she didn't want to offend. But it would put a lot of worries at ease if he said the man wasn't. "I just need to know."

She could feel his eyes on her, whether it was to measure her up or find out she was lying about her intent, she didn't know. So long as he gave some form of an answer to stop her heart from racing. She was also worried what his answer would be. She didn't want to judge, but... Thornstriker lived with him. And though she was certain he wouldn't hurt her friend, she was still worried what might happen if Thornstriker found out, if Bloodshed was hiding this from her. She just didn't want Thornstriker to be hurt.

"He came into the den," Bloodshed said quietly. "I found him near her bedroom."

Solstice let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Not for the fact someone had tried to coming into the bedroom, where both of them were, but Bloodshed had only killed the man because he was trespassing. No one came into a decorated cave like this unless they were looking for trouble. Whether or not that man knew Thornstriker was in the room, it didn’t matter. She was just glad Thornstriker wasn’t hurt.

"Thank you," she said. "For protecting her."

Bloodshed didn't say anything in response. She didn't need to thank him. He had sworn his life to Thornstriker, swearing to protect her for the rest of his life. She was a beautiful woman, selfless and innocent, had never done anything wrong and deserved nothing but his devotion. Even if it meant he had to do things she would have been horrified by.

At least her friend had enough sense to not let her know. Thornstriker would have been terrified. Maybe even disgusted. While she was understanding of his demon side, it didn't mean she wanted to see what he was truly capable of. And he didn't want her to see that either.

Light footsteps caught his attention. He turned his head to see Thornstriker coming back into his den, smiling as she held up her half-filled basket. "I told you I would be quick," she said to her friend.

Solstice nodded, giving a small chuckle as her shoulders visibly relaxed. "Yeah, you did."

She watched as Thornstriker prepared her tea, passing a glance to Bloodshed. He was exactly as she thought he would be. He monitored the room and always kept an eye on Thornstriker. What she said, she knew he didn't need to be told but it wasn't to affirm what he knew, but to alley her fears. All that mattered, that both of them could agree on, was Thornstriker.

Accepting the hot tea, they turned back to chatting much like before. And all Bloodshed did was remain in his seat, watching over Thornstriker, as he always would.


End file.
